CPL General

[Kent]

https://canpl.ca/article/forge-sign-sigma-products-stoddart-and-oluwaseun

"Oyegunle has been inked to a Canadian Premier League Developmental contract"

Did we already know about developmental contracts? Is that what the U-Sports players from the draft sign? Or is this a new thing?

[MM3/MM2/MM]

Yes those players who wanted to return to university had to be on developmental contracts.  Looks like the league has extended this to signing youth players, i'm sure I saw this term used with another player, don't remember which one.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

22 minutes ago, MM3/MM2/MM said:

Yes those players who wanted to return to university had to be on developmental contracts.  Looks like the league has extended this to signing youth players, i'm sure I saw this term used with another player, don't remember which one.

Think Victor Loturi of the Cavalry was the first non-Usports developmental signing.

[narduch]

36 minutes ago, MM3/MM2/MM said:

Yes those players who wanted to return to university had to be on developmental contracts.  Looks like the league has extended this to signing youth players, i'm sure I saw this term used with another player, don't remember which one.

I think they have used that for those emergency keeper signings

[Aird25]

Happy Monday, everyone 🤗. Yeesh. 

[Ansem]

Interesting article

 

 Don Garber throwing a "warning/threat" at the CSA:

“I am excited about the development of the CPL,” Garber said. “But we do need to work together to figure [things] out. The Canadian Soccer Association needs to figure out how they’re going to engage with Major League Soccer teams that are investing millions and millions and millions of dollars per team, not including what they’ve invested in their academies and in their infrastructure, to ensure that that investment is going to help develop the Canadian player, and help justify the investment that they are making, otherwise that investment is going to go away, because right now, it’s not making that much sense.”

It sounds like he's trying to get the CSA to somewhat influence CPL into becoming an MLS feeder. That's how I'm interpreting this, which in my opinion is a clumsy way to go at it.

[narduch]

Hi Don, maybe you can start by not discriminating against Canadian players in your own league? OK? Thanks.

[narduch]

I've been reading some complaints from Impact and Whitecaps fans claiming that CSA is blocking them from adding USL reserve teams. Is that true?

I thought they already tried that and gave up?

[Ansem]

2 minutes ago, narduch said:

I've been reading some complaints from Impact and Whitecaps fans claiming that CSA is blocking them from adding USL reserve teams. Is that true?

I thought they already tried that and gave up?

There's a moratorium on the sanction of new clubs in USSF leagues by the CSA. Nothing is stopping Montreal to add a club in PLSQ while the Whitecaps should focus on helping BC Soccer to successfully launch their D3 league

[Ansem]

It's news to me that it was the CSA's mandate to produce MLS players...

[Cheeta]

43 minutes ago, narduch said:

Hi Don, maybe you can start by not discriminating against Canadian players in your own league? OK? Thanks.

Score.

Boils down plain & simple.  Right there.  100%.

Seems a bit early in the day for MLS to be worrying about Canadian players looking at the real development opportunities the CPL can offer them when compared to MLS.

[Bison44]

This is a Tony Soprano/ganster move.  Youse guys better let Vancouver start a USL team in canada (even though they shut it down on their own saying it was TOO EXPENSIVE, and montreal shut theirs down on their own as well), or there will be trouble!  And dont start causing trouble for Ottawa or TFC2...its our turf..back off!   Or if you watch the WIRE....Avon needs his corners!!!  

[Kent]

"to ensure that that investment is going to help develop the Canadian player"

I assume he meant "American" when he said Canadian. Why would the MLS teams want to develop Canadian players when they are playing in an American league, with their reserves in an American league, and their youth teams in an American league? They quite clearly are not interested in Canadian players.

Vancouver has done better in this regard this year, but here are the combined number of starts over the last 5 games for TFC.
Canadian players: 2
American players: 29
Other players: 24

[Ansem]

14 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

And dont start causing trouble for Ottawa or TFC2

Maybe he's heard of future sanctioning decisions...

TFC II: Being relegated to D3 from D2 doesn't justify an exception anymore. Ontario has a D3 as well.

Ottawa: There's an entire thread on why it makes no sense

[Bison44]

Remember, someone is always accusing us V's of pushing an Us vs them agenda with MLS, seems like Garber has a BEEF with us.  

[narduch]

I honestly think they aren't happy that they are no longer the only game in town.

Plus perhaps the CPL has shown the tweener' type players that MLS is not a good route to be in.

I wonder about a player like David, who apparently was approached by all 3 MLS teams. I wonder if they would make him rot on the bench too.

[Ansem]

3 minutes ago, narduch said:

I wonder about a player like David, who apparently was approached by all 3 MLS teams. I wonder if they would make him rot on the bench too.

Exactly why I felt that Zachary Brault Guillard loan to MLS was a bad move. He's been glued to the bench which cost him his spot to Laryea on the National team

Edited September 17, 2019 by Ansem

[ted]

On 9/15/2019 at 6:24 AM, Winnipeg Fury said:

CPL needs to look at having play-offs.  

The die-hards may not care, but the general sporting public does.

LOL, "the general sporting public" doesn't give a toss about soccer and certainly will not be brought in to the love of the game by watching a playoff system that narrows down from seven teams to, what, four? I mean how do you even add playoffs to a league of seven fucking teams?!?! FFS seven teams is less than the number that enter the MLS Conference playoffs!

That's why we have this stupid Spring & Fall season. (BTW if you want to make the league look ridiculous to, "the general sporting public" talk about a "Fall Season" that starts in July.)  We have a "final" between the spring and fall "winners" that is pandering to this need for a "cup final" without a cup competition.

I mean basically playoffs are simply a post-season cup competition where entrance and seedings are determined by league results....

Hmmmm... what if we had a regular season of home and home which then loads the post season "league cup" (aka playoffs) based on place in the the normal rankings?

Round one (home and away, aggregate score):
M1: First gets a bye 
M2: Second v Seventh
M3: Third v Sixth
M4: Fourth v Fifth

Semifinals (home and away, aggregate score):
M5: First v winner M2
M6: winner M3 v winner M4

Finals (home and away, aggregate score)

At some point I would expect a second Champions League place to be added and that the League Champion and the League Cup winner would both get a spot with the second place league finisher given the spot if a team won "the double". 

Ugh, I feel dirty for endorsing any sort of playoff system but if we call it a League Cup competition I can't really complain. LOL

[dyslexic nam]

I have no idea what others are like, but I haven't watched a single MLS game since CPL started.  I am looking forward to the TFC/Impact V Cup game but I simply don't turn on TSN's MLS games.  And I am someone who used to watch pretty much all televised games by the 3 Canadian teams.  It is in part because of limited time, in part because I have invested in OneSoccer so want to get my value out of it, and in part because I am annoyed that TSN seems to basically be in CPL blackout mode so don't feel like supporting their footy broadcast alternatives.  

Recognizing that I am likely a bit more extreme than most, I would be surprised if the MLS bean counters haven't noticed an impact  on their bottom line since CPL geared up.  The simple fact is that people only have so much money to spend on tickets and merch, and only so much time to spend watching soccer.  Insofar as people are opting to support CPL - even if it isn't explicitly intended to undermine MLS - I would think that ti still leads to less overall commercial support for MLS.  Maybe not in the core markets, but there are all sorts of outlier markets where MLS merch was sold. 

 

 

[MtlMario]

1 hour ago, dyslexic nam said:

I have no idea what others are like, but I haven't watched a single MLS game since CPL started.  I am looking forward to the TFC/Impact V Cup game but I simply don't turn on TSN's MLS games.  And I am someone who used to watch pretty much all televised games by the 3 Canadian teams.  It is in part because of limited time, in part because I have invested in OneSoccer so want to get my value out of it, and in part because I am annoyed that TSN seems to basically be in CPL blackout mode so don't feel like supporting their footy broadcast alternatives.  

Recognizing that I am likely a bit more extreme than most, I would be surprised if the MLS bean counters haven't noticed an impact  on their bottom line since CPL geared up.  The simple fact is that people only have so much money to spend on tickets and merch, and only so much time to spend watching soccer.  Insofar as people are opting to support CPL - even if it isn't explicitly intended to undermine MLS - I would think that ti still leads to less overall commercial support for MLS.  Maybe not in the core markets, but there are all sorts of outlier markets where MLS merch was sold. 

 

 

I was a double S/T holder of the impact and used to record all 3 Cdn MLS teams. Not anymore. Now my focus is the CPL on One Soccer.

[Stouffvillain]

The Don is nuts. 

Good for Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal for spending millions of dollars on their rosters, that's there prerogative. If they have a problem with spending that much on the roster start developing players that can play at the MLS level and command lesser salaries.  If MLS clubs are spending money on academies that aren't producing MLS level players for them that is their issue.  Someone tell Barca to stop developing players that can't make their first team. 

How much of that Alphonso Davies money is the CPL getting?

Edited September 17, 2019 by Stouffvillain

[RS]

4 hours ago, Ansem said:

There's a moratorium on the sanction of new clubs in USSF leagues by the CSA. Nothing is stopping Montreal to add a club in PLSQ while the Whitecaps should focus on helping BC Soccer to successfully launch their D3 league

They should be doing so, but they also need a higher calibre league for their reserves to play in (if they actually decide to spend money on such teams again, which is a big IF).

3 hours ago, Ansem said:

Maybe he's heard of future sanctioning decisions...

TFC II: Being relegated to D3 from D2 doesn't justify an exception anymore. Ontario has a D3 as well.

Ottawa: There's an entire thread on why it makes no sense

TFCIII was already one of the best teams in Ontario's D3. TFCII is a step higher.

[Ansem]

1 minute ago, RS said:

They should be doing so, but they also need a higher calibre league for their reserves to play in (if they actually decide to spend money on such teams again, which is a big IF).

They are free to help raise the level here in Canada. If their reserve teams would be as superior as you imply, even better...forces everyone help to raise the bar

2 minutes ago, RS said:

TFCIII was already one of the best teams in Ontario's D3. TFCII is a step higher.

Was... League 1 Ontario undeniably improved since then which CPL is demonstrating. I doubt Anthony Novak would be overwhelmingly out of his element in USL-1

[RS]

1 minute ago, Ansem said:

They are free to help raise the level here in Canada. If their reserve teams would be as superior as you imply, even better...forces everyone help to raise the bar

Was... League 1 Ontario undeniably improved since then which CPL is demonstrating. I doubt Anthony Novak would be overwhelmingly out of his element in USL-1

Yes, their reserve teams would be superior. Yes, they'd raise the bar for the rest of those leagues. But no, VWFC and IMFC wouldn't see any improvement for their reserve squads by having them walk over amateur players week in and week out, so why would already cheap owners invest in that?

I already said I agree that IMFC and VWFC (and TFC) should be placing teams in existing or upcoming high-level local amateur leagues, but the fully pro reserve squads shouldn't be those teams. If anything, I'd like to see a combined CPL-MLS reserve league in Canada.

As for L1O improving, TFC3 (U-19s) was one of the best teams in that league last year. L1O didn't suddenly undergo a huge jump in quality over one offseason after losing several of its best players to the CPL and losing its entire fourth-place team to the USSFDA league. That's not how it works.

[deschamp86]

2 minutes ago, RS said:

As for L1O improving, TFC3 (U-19s) was one of the best teams in that league last year. L1O didn't suddenly undergo a huge jump in quality over one offseason after losing several of its best players to the CPL and losing its entire fourth-place team to the USSFDA league. That's not how it works.

Which is kind of funny that they went to USSDA for better competition. TFCIII averaged 2.0 points per game in USSDA and 2.1 points per game in L1O. I realize that doesn't tell the whole story, but it seems like they should have stuck with a league with less travel and more ability to scout Canadian players